Rehearsal
by xenon3000
Summary: Victor and Elsa rehearse their wedding ceremony-years ahead of schedule.
1. Chapter 1

Elsa Van Helsing got up early. Very early.

Normally she slept in on Saturday mornings. But not today. It was 5:45 AM, and Elsa had big plans.

Two weeks ago, Elsa noticed that Victor was paying more attention to her than usual in science class, a class that was now taught by a gym teacher. Was Victor really attracted to her? Or was it because Mr. Rzykruski was gone?

Then at lunch, Victor asked Elsa if she would marry him, presenting her with a fake but nevertheless pretty ring.

"I can't marry you right now!" Elsa laughed. "I'm only nine. I'll have to wait at least nine years!"

"Well, how about the next closest thing?" Victor asked, not giving up easily.

"What do you mean?"

"We pretend to get married. Think of it as a dress rehearsal."

"I don't know. My uncle might not like this idea."

"You don't have to ask his permission, and neither do I. We can walk to the New Holland Church early in the morning on a Saturday while your uncle and my parents are asleep. No one else will be there but us. And we won't be breaking any laws. The only way we would be breaking the law is if we asked for a marriage license and lied about our ages to get it."

"This upcoming Saturday is too soon. How about next Saturday?"

"Excellent. See you there," Victor said with a smile.

Elsa now had something more pleasant to look forward to than the monotony of elementary school. But she had to surpress her joy for the time being. Even though they were in a quiet part of the cafeteria, she hoped no one overheard them. She wanted to pull this off without anyone finding out.

As she walked home from school, her mind was in overdrive. She needed to buy a dress, and she needed to practice sneaking in and out if she could.

The possibility of failure worried her, but the possibility of success and the desire for Victor's affection excited her.

 **Keep reading to see if she succeeds...**


	2. Chapter 2

Elsa sprinted home, full of excitement.

She raced to her room and counted her money. She had $105.12. There was more money in her bank account, but she didmnot want to take any money out of it if she could avoid it. Now all the money she had made selling lemonade and doing basic chores was about to pay off.

Next, she pulled out a map of New Holland. There was a shopping center within walking distance of New Holland Elementary. She would make a stop there tomorrow during the lunchtime recess period. If there was an outfit she could afford, great. If not, maybe she could sell some toys or personal items she no longer wanted for extra money. She stuffed a few in a paper bag that she no longer needed or wanted.

She spent the rest of the afternoon completing her work, and then it was time for dinner.

"What's that shiny metal object on your finger?" asked her uncle.

"It's just a cheap fake ring," Elsa replied. "Victor gave it to me."

"How charming," her uncle remarked. "I just hope your relationship doesn't progress too much too soon."

The next day, Elsa ate her lunch and took off in record time. She headed for the department store at the shopping center and, to her astonishment, found a white dress she adored for only $11.50.. It had a wide skirt, and came with a headpiece, a veil, and white slippers. Apparently it was meant for some occasion called a first communion.

She purchased the dress and raced back to school. Finding the dress and buying it was easy. Getting it back home without anyone noticing-especially her uncle-would be harder.

The dress came in an elegant white box. She saw a discarded paper bag from the grocery store nearby, and placed the box inside. Boy, was she lucky. She carried the bag like it was a regular grocery bag. Now she could return to school without drawing a lot of attention to herself.

She placed the box in her locker, and finished off her school day. Then she realized she had another problem. Her uncle would certainly notice her carrying this huge grocery bag home. How could she take her dress home without her uncle finding out?

 **Elsa's question will be answered in the next chapter...**


	3. Chapter 3

Elsa could not bring the dress home in her box. She could not think of a lie to explain why she was carrying a grocery bag. And what if she dropped the bag or her uncle peeked inside?

Maybe she could wear her white dress underneath the outfit she usually wore to school. She snuck into the girls' room to see if that idea would be plausible.

It wasn't. The dress was too long.

She went back to her locker, frantically searching through it to find something, anything that might provide a solution. There was nothing.

It looked like she would need to bring everything home over the course of several trips. She could place the headpiece and veil in her lunchbox and bring that home today, and then bring her white shoes home in the lunchbox tomorrow.

After doing that, she decided she needed to ask Victor for help. Her opportunity came at that day's lunch period.

"Victor, will you be carrying home anything big in the next week or two?" asked Elsa.

"On Friday, I'll be carrying home a bicycle pedal generator I built in a cardboard box," answered Victor. "Why do you ask?"

 **Chapter 4 is next...**


	4. Chapter 4

That following Saturday morning, Elsa got up earlier than she had ever had before. She tiptoed down the stairs, without using a flashlight. Her breathing was done through her nose. It was quieter that way.

She peeked into the backyard. There was a brown paper bag by the left side of the fence.

Her package had arrived.

One week later, she got up early again. First, she removed her ponytails. Her hair looked more grown-up that way. Then she brushed her hair. Finally, she put on her white dress, shoes, and headpiece.

Once again, she walked down the stairs in the dark. Her heart was pounding. Were all brides as nervous on their wedding day as she was right now?

She reached the front door and turned the knob.

She opened the front door.

The sun was just beginning to rise. And there were no clouds in the sky. Perfect.

She opened the screen door and closed the front door.

Then she let go of the screen door.

BANG!

Oh, no! Had anyone heard her?

Her heartbeat now sounded like a muffled jackhammer.

She waited a minute. Then two minutes.

She took a long, deep breath to calm herself and continued on. Be still, fluttering heart. Be still.

When she reached the church, the sun had completely risen. She walked up the steps, and tripped and fell on her dress before reaching the top of the stairway. She stood up and carefully examined her dress. Thankfully, it was neither dirty nor torn.

A glance at her reflection off of the glass in front of the church's signage made her gasp. She had done a great job getting all dressed up in total darkness. Her hair was perfectly combed and her headpiece was perfectly straight.

She was more than ready now. She eagerly flung open the door.

And there was Victor at the altar. She had seen Victor wearing a gray sport coat and red tie in church before, but today, he looked even more handsome. He was in a jet-black tuxedo, and he looked like he could be an orchestra conductor.

"You look beautiful," Victor complimented.

"Thank you," Elsa answered.

Victor turned around, switching on a record player to play Richard Wagner's "Bridal Chorus.". Elsa waltzed down the aisle.

Victor pretended to be the minister for a few minutes. Then they exchanged vows. They also exchanged rings, fake rings of course. They did everything but kiss.

Victor put on another record, and they started to dance.

"Victor?"

"Elsa?!"

Astonished, Victor and Elsa froze in their tracks. Victor's mother and father were at the front door of the church, along with Elsa's uncle.

"H-how did you find us?". Elsa stammered.

"Sparky and Persephone led the way," answered Victor's mother. And then Sparky and Persephone entered the church. Sparky was in a perfect straight line with Victor, and Persephone was in a perfect straight line with Elsa.

 **All that's left is the conclusion...**


	5. Chapter 5

Victor and Elsa could have been grounded.

Victor and Elsa could have been ordered to return their nice clothes to the department store for full refunds.

Victor and Elsa could have lost their allowances.

Victor and Elsa could have been ordered to do extra chores.

But they both received an even worse punishment.

They had to pose for pictures from both Victor's dad and Elsa's uncle.

For what seemed like hours.

First at the altar.

Then outside the church.

Followed by a romantic garden.

Looking directly into the sun.

And that was just the pictures of just the two of them.

Then there were solo pictures.

And pictures of Victor with Sparky.

And pictures of Elsa with Persephone.

And pictures of all four of them.

 **The End. Please review and let me know what you think!**


End file.
